Our Righteousness Is As Filthy Rags Romans

"Sign it." He said, stretching out the file. "I'm not going to sign that paper, Carlton." I felt vulnerable and scared. I turned to Carlton, and his eyes just cut right through me. Instantly, a huge lump formed in my throat. "I... I... don't..." Carlton's expression suddenly softened. He sat next to me and reached out to cup my chin gently. I felt a shiver run down my spine as his hand brushed against my skin. "I'm not going to hurt you or anything, I just need this. I won't use it against you." He said gently. I hesitated for a moment, staring into his eyes before I took the pen and file from him with trembling fingers. I signed where necessary and gave it back to him. He stood, kissed the top of my head, and head for the door, but stopped in front of my wardrobe, where the lingerie he had ordered to be brought to my room was. His eyes fell back on me, his lips thinning into a line. "That's the only relationship we have now, Good night, Samantha." He said and closed the door. What? ************* When tragedy strikes, Samantha Jones's life is turned upside down. Forced to drop out of high school and take on a secret life as a stripper, she's desperate for a way out. Her desperate life takes a drastic turn when she's propositioned by billionaire Carlton Williams - MARRY ME, AND I'LL GIVE YOU THE WORLD. But there's a catch: he's only using her to secure his inheritance Samantha's willing to do whatever it takes to provide for her sister, even if it means being a pawn in Carlton's game. Will their arrangement ignite into something more, or will the secrets and lies tear them apart? Find out.

The day the Porter family went bankrupt, my elder sister, who had been engaged to Calvin Porter, claimed she was in love with someone else and cut ties with him without a second thought. I was the one who stepped forward to take her place, becoming the laughingstock of our social circle. I smoothed away all the hardness in him, tried to shape myself into the woman he liked, and swallowed countless moments of bitterness, hoping only to warm his distant heart. Until our wedding day. A car accident happened, and Calvin's first instinct was to shield my sister with his whole body. "Rebecca, don't be scared. Where are you hurt? We'll get you to the hospital right away!" He carried her into the ambulance without so much as glancing back at me. I looked down at the iron rod piercing my chest and felt warm blood gush out. It was only then I understood. He was not indifferent by nature, he was simply indifferent to me. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day Calvin came to our house carrying the engagement gift.

I don't expect to be reunited with Reyn Aldric, the heir of Frostfang Clan, at a banquet to celebrate his ascendance. I also don't expect him to throw me out heartlessly. As I walk along a deserted street, my mind replays Reyn's mocking words. "You abandoned me for money and status, Ms. Valtara. Do you regret your actions now that I've become an heir? Throw this materialistic gold digger out! I don't want to see her anywhere near me!" And so, I'm thrown out of the banquet hall just like that. I fall to the floor. It's been five years. I didn't think he would still hate me so. Then again, it makes sense. Who wouldn't hate someone who left them when they were on the brink of death? But my dear Reyn isn't dead. He's alive and well; he can even get mad at me without worrying about it affecting his health. I'm about to die, though. I don't even deserve to be emotional. Why? Because my Heart of the Wolfkin beats in Reyn's body.

My fiancé leaves me jilted on our wedding day and marries my sister. As I stand there, feeling humiliated, William Sterling gets on one knee before me and asks me to marry him. Everyone in my city knows of him—he's an elite bachelor and every woman's dream. Yet now, he slips a wedding band onto my ring finger and confesses his love for me. "I've always loved you, and I thank the heavens for giving me the chance to spend my life with you." We get married, and he treats me well. Everyone knows that he won't fall for anyone other than me. Everything changes when I accidentally enter his studio in the seventh year of our marriage. I see that he's painted thousands of portraits of my sister, Ivy Winslow. Each one is a tender confession of his love for her. The man I love with all my heart earnestly prays to the heavens and utters his wish. He's willing to sacrifice anything for Ivy to be happy, including his life. It turns out what I thought was seven years of love was nothing but a lie. Ivy is the one he's loved all along. If that's the case, I'll back out. I'll leave in three days, and I hope he and Ivy can be happy together.

On the day Zachary Lake stands at the pinnacle of global technology, accepting his award, I'm lying in a hospital bed, abandoned by doctors because I can't afford treatment for kidney failure. On TV, the host asks him to call the person he's most grateful for. Without hesitation, he dials my number. "Shannon, do you regret leaving me?" he asks. I clutch the astronomical medical bill in my hand, the paper crumpling beneath my fingers. Forcing a light tone, I reply, "Can you take me on as your kept woman now that you're a big deal?" On screen, his face remains expressionless as he hangs up without a word. Then, his cold voice pierces through the broadcast. "Now, I have nothing to feel grateful for." But what he doesn't know is that when he was on the brink of death years ago, I was the one who gave him my kidney.

The temperature starts to drop once we reach the top of the mountain. My two childhood friends, who swore to protect me with their lives, don't even spare me a glance. One is hastily wrapping all his clothes around Lisette Locke, while the other is warming her with his body. I'm so cold that my heart condition acts up; I beg them to save me. However, they're infuriated by this. "How can you still be trying to get our attention at a time like this, Cecilia? Run around for a while if you're cold!" "We'll buy you that white down jacket you wanted when we get back, but you can't take it from Lise now!" The rescue team arrives, and I barely make it out alive. I'm hospitalized for a week, but neither of them come to visit me. I see from my social media that they're busy celebrating Lisette's birthday. We've been friends for over a decade, yet I mean nothing when compared to the driver's daughter. I call my father and say, "Dad, "I'm willing to marry into the Jorgensen family!"

Betrayed, raped, tortured and abandoned to her death, Eve swore that she would find vengeance on the family who had wronged her and her people. This includes the very man she had given her heart to, Adam Sviatoslavich. .... Being a princess of the Ice kingdom Zhatiera, Eve knew she wanted to do more than to soon rule after her beloved parents and, roaming through the forest and finding new adventure was the one thing she can't ever let go. When one of her adventures causes her to encounter the future king of the Lycan empire, Adam, she was smitten and ready to abandoned her throne for the man she calls soulmate. Despite being warned by her parents, she chose to stay with Adam who claimed to love her and swore to do right by her. Unfortunately, his own family do not hold the same sentiments and is determined to make the couple suffer. When their goal was achieved, Eve was left to die by the very person she entrust her life to. Surviving her painful ordeal with no kingdom and family to call her own, Eve swore to do whatever it takes to get her revenge and, if a whole kingdom has to burn because of it, it wouldn't matter. They all deserve it. No matter what it takes. ... I met him when I was a child, I knew he was mine from the moment I met him, I have sworn to never love anyone but him, I was his, but I didn't know that he was never mine, I never expect him to turn his back on me and betray me so cruelly, I would have given my life for him, I just never knew that was what he had wanted from me in the first place...

Can love still save what's broken when all that's left are shattered hearts running away from the haunting past? Their story isn't the ordinary for what you've seen will not something you'd expect the same way. Love will will make you believe a fantasy but in reality it will only tear you apart. It is filled with secrets you never want to know. The question is, are you ready to know what is behind all these betrayals?

At the tea party that afternoon, Luca Fazzari met Holly Hopkins, and ever since then, she has been on his mind. Luca avoided her like the plague because he knew they were doomed to never be together. He worries that Holly will be hurt if she is exposed to the harsh realities of his world. But fate has different ideas and continues reuniting them. Will Luca's one night of giving in satisfy him or make him want her even more?

Adrianna Valiente is a third-year Journalism student that suddenly got involved in a murder case. The worst is when she found out that the victim is her one and only best friend. Her eagerness to seek justice leads her to work with authority. There she met Daven, a student detective. The two of them work together to investigate the mysterious murder case that eventually had a connection to serial killings in their city. As Adrianna and Daven look beneath the case, the more they unravel a lot of mysteries that always make them ask--who is the killer?